Florida’s Largest Beef-Packing Facility to Shut Doors

Florida’s largest beef-packing plant, Central Beef—which has been in operation since 1946 and processes up to 750 cows per day—will close by the end of May. According to local news outlet Daily Commercial, Central Beef has struggled to secure funding and investment, had issues with contaminated wastewater, and ultimately succumbed to the steady drop in United States per capita beef consumption, which fell from 74.7 pounds in 1965 to 53.9 pounds in 2015. The facility has filed a required 60-day notice with the state detailing its plans to layoff all of its 214 workers. In addition to the closure of Israel’s largest slaughterhouse last year, public awareness about the disastrous effects of animal agriculture is creating a kill-floor worker shortage in Canada.